Inositol

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I read a parent write about the benefits of inositol in another post.

If you have used this or researched it, what do you think of it? There is a lot of contradictory information on the web. I am searching for legit sources. I am very interested in this for myself and my son.

Thanks.

As I said in the other thread, it really seems to help take the edge off of my son's anxiety in the house. From the research I have done, it is a relatively harmless amino acid. I figured (for us) the worst that could happen is we'd spent $30 on a supplement that did nothing to help. It has by no means been a cure for anything, but my child is so hypervigilant and frightened by his own thoughts that he has been crippled by fears. Inositol seems to take the edge off. We went for a couple of weeks without him having it and they all returned full throttle, so I believe it is doing something.

Can I ask what amount you were giving your son? What dosage did you start with?

Also, do you dose by weight, disorder, age??

I read on one site they have recommended dosage amounts depending on the disorder you are trying to treat. The recommendation was for adults.

I also read one site that said it should never be given to someone that has bipolar, while other sites recommend it for treating bipolar. They all said OK for OCD, but some said no for autism, some said yes.

Anyone have any legit sites?

It's odd that you've found places that say never to give inositol to certain members of the population, especially considering it's present in quite a bit of food naturally. Sorry I don't have any specific sites, I researched and followed my gut in order to give it a trial in our house.

I believe it has calcium and magnesium in it. The body has to store magnesium because it can't live without it. Stress actually depletes magnesium. If magnesium becomes diminished enough, one can suffer a heart attack and die. It was suggested to me at a particular point and believe it saved my life based on the physical symptoms I was having at the time, including a hand tremor. Calcium is also extremely beneficial for many reasons. I don't take it anymore, but think it is a favorable thing to do.

for those with ADHD it is said to make it worse

since many with autism also have ADHD symptoms i can possible aggrivate those

but it can help with the OCD like symptoms so its a trade off

I have an ADHD diagnosis and haven't found it to make any difference at all with that. This said, I am perimenopausal and take a supplement for the many irritations that brings with it and also just returned to taking a very small amount of dexamphetamine on a daily basis. I'm such a headcase it's hard to know what is helping and what isn't. (Look, Mom, I learned sarcasm!)

I am going to try this out and will report the results in a few weeks.

Just for the sake of clarification, Inositol is not an amino acid, it is a carbohydrate type molecule similar to the B vitamin niacin. The Inositol preparations I've seen don't contain magnesium or calcium though it is quite possible there are preparations that contain those minerals, I just am not familiar with them. Check the labels. As far as web sites you can depend on, I do personally take stock in WebMD to a certain extent and they discuss the use of this supplement. In addition, if you go to this sight and serach for inositol, you get a long list of reference material that may be even more helpful for you than the sight itself.

I took it about ten years ago and at that time, at least for the brand I used, the main ingredients were calcium and magnesium. So, I'm glad you said something. Calcium and magnesium are extremely beneficial, nonetheless, particularly for stress related problems. I'm very sure the Inositol I used contained those ingredients, anyway.

I would highly recommend you consult a naturopathic doctor for dosage info. I don't agree that it would necessarily be redundant if you are already taking similar supplementation. For example, my son used to take fish oil supplements in the dose that is recommended for optimal health - the dose recommended for spectrum kids is like 100x that (or some similarly high multiple), in order to see the benefits. A good naturopathic doctor can REALLY make a difference in your quality of life.

Inositol is inosital. That is the only ingredient. It is not a vitamin, but often called B8. BTW - it is very expensive. There are no known toxic side effects.